Read Novel Full Chapter 640: Food
Chapter 640: Chapter 640: Food
’This... this is real...?’
Then, the zombie’s body began to twitch.
A faint, sickly smell lingered as everyone watched in stunned silence.
Slowly... painfully, the creature shifted.
Its features softened, its breathing steadied, and within moments, it had completely transformed into a human.
Then, as if all its strength had been drained in an instant, the man collapsed.
His body went limp, his chest rising faintly as he slipped into what looked like a deep coma.
Silence fell.
Even the other restrained zombies seemed momentarily still, their movements pausing as if they, too, sensed something unnatural had occurred.
Then chaos erupted.
Several of them began thrashing violently, while soldiers instinctively rushed forward.
But General Luke reacted faster.
Without hesitation, he raised his hand, his psychic force surging forward like an invisible wave.
The transformed man’s body lifted off the ground and was dragged swiftly back inside.
Once inside, the doors slammed shut behind them.
Only then did realization hit him. ’What if he turns back?’
His expression hardened immediately.
"Restrain him!" he ordered sharply.
The soldiers wasted no time. They tied the man securely to a chair, binding his arms and legs tightly.
"Keep watch," Luke added, his tone firm. "If anything changes, report it immediately."
But when Luke turned back toward Ivana and her group... his attitude had completely changed.
The suspicion that once filled his eyes had softened into something else.
Hope.
"If this is real..." he murmured under his breath, ’then countless lives can be saved...’
A flicker of emotion crossed his face as an image surfaced in his mind, his mother.
Her lifeless eyes. Her decayed form.
’If this works... maybe...’
He took a slow breath before straightening.
"Come," he said, his tone far more respectful now. "You must be tired. We’ll arrange a place for you."
Ivana followed calmly, though the moment she stepped deeper into the base, her expression shifted slightly.
The buildings were old. Worn.
’So this is what the outside world looks like now...’ she thought, her lips tightening slightly.
She had almost forgotten.
Life inside Silvy Base had become... comfortable.
Too comfortable.
When Luke led them into a worn-out building, Ivana paused for a second before offering a polite smile.
"There’s no need to trouble yourself," she said gently. "We’ve brought our own supplies."
Luke blinked, slightly taken aback.
’They brought their own... supplies?’
His gaze instinctively shifted toward them.
Only now did he truly notice. Their clothes were clean. Their skin looked healthy.
And faintly, they even carried a fresh, floral scent.
’Shampoo...? Soap...?’ he wondered, disbelief flickering in his eyes. ’In a time like this...?’
Before he could process it further, his attention was drawn elsewhere.
Ivana’s group began setting up a tent.
The material was sturdy, durable, far superior to anything commonly seen even before the apocalypse. Within minutes, it stood firmly in place.
And then,they started unloading supplies.
Food. Vegetables. Milk. Oil. Grains, fine white flour.
Item after item was brought out and neatly arranged inside.
Luke’s eyes widened. His throat went dry.
’This... this much food...?’
It was an unimaginable sight.
In his base, even a single piece of bread or a bottle of water was considered precious.
But here...they were treating food like it was nothing.
What Luke didn’t know was that all of this had been carefully planned by Ivy.
She wanted expansion.
Now that the apocalypse was receding, she could extend her reach beyond Silvy Base. There was still land, still space, and more importantly...people.
If she could attract them, her base would grow stronger.
And so, she used the most effective bait, Food.
Luke took a deep breath, steadying himself before walking toward Ivana.
"I..." he hesitated slightly before continuing, "I would like to purchase food."
Ivana turned to him, a faint smile on her lips. "Of course. How much would you like?"
Luke raised his hand, spreading five fingers.
Ivana blinked. "Fifty tons?" she asked casually.
Luke stiffened. "...No."
"Five hundred tons?" she continued, tilting her head slightly.
This time, Luke almost choked.
"Five hundred tons?" he repeated, disbelief evident in his voice. "That’s impossible!"
He let out a dry laugh, shaking his head. "You shouldn’t joke like that. Even five tons is difficult enough."
Ivana’s expression shifted slightly.
"Is it a money issue?" she asked calmly.
Luke’s face turned red almost instantly.
"...That’s part of it," he admitted reluctantly. "Right now, even a bottle of water or a piece of bread costs ten gram of gold."
The words carried exhaustion, frustration, and helplessness.
Ivana frowned slightly before forcing a small smile.
"At Silvy Base, a bottle of water and bread wouldn’t cost less than five hundred mud coins," she said.
Luke stared at her, confusion filling his eyes.
"...Mud coins?"
Ivana patiently explained the currency system.
As she spoke, Luke’s expression changed gradually, from confusion to shock.
"One gram of gold... equals ten thousand mud coins?" he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
’That means... with one gram... we could feed so many people...’
His heart pounded.
Taking a deep breath, he straightened and spoke firmly.
"Then I want to purchase fifty tons of food."
Ivana nodded without hesitation. "Done."
.................
True to her word, within two days, fifty tons of food arrived at Spring Base.
When Luke saw it with his own eyes,he nearly broke down.
Tears welled up, his vision blurring as relief and disbelief crashed over him.
’We’re... saved...’
By then, he had already reported everything to the base leader, Tammy.
A recently promoted female lieutenant, strong-willed and sharp-minded.
When she heard about the antidote and the overwhelming supply of food, even she was left stunned.
’In just one year...’ she thought, her fingers tightening slightly. ’Someone managed to achieve all of this?’
Tammy did not hesitate.
The moment she understood the scale of what was being offered, she immediately ordered the treasury to be opened.
Gold, old reserves that had been preserved since before the apocalypse, was brought out, its dull metallic sheen reflecting under the dim lights.